[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4457-S4459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Coronavirus

  On education, last week we heard two unbelievable and frankly 
horrifying statements from the Trump administration about its push to 
reopen our schools. On CNN's ``State of the Union,'' Secretary of 
Education Betsy DeVos claimed that ``there's nothing in the data that 
suggests that kids being in school is in any way dangerous.'' Later in 
the week, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany responded to 
criticism of the President's position on school reopenings and said: 
``The science should not stand in the way of this.''
  These comments reflect a President and an administration's disregard 
for the health and safety of our teachers, students, and families.
  The President and his enablers accuse Democrats of pushing back on 
his administration's reckless policies for political reasons. The truth 
is, if there is one thing President Trump has made clear time and 
again, it is that he doesn't do anything without a self-serving 
political motive.
  Come on. We all want our schools to open, including the teachers, 
parents, and the students I have spoken with. But, of course, we want 
schools to open safely, without risking exposure to the virus, and I 
really don't understand why Betsy DeVos doesn't get this.
  Reopening our schools safely in the midst of this pandemic would be 
challenging even with competent leadership in the White House and the 
Department of Education. Instead, we have a President and Secretary of 
Education who threaten to withhold funding for schools that refuse to 
reopen, who support sweeping mandates for schools to reopen before it 
is safe to do so, and who push the CDC to weaken its guidelines on 
schools reopening.
  The cavalier disregard for our students, teachers, principals, and 
administrative staff has produced considerable uncertainty in States 
and local communities already under tremendous stress during this 
pandemic. Increasingly, they are forced to create their own guidelines, 
leaving students, teachers, parents, and principals unsure about how to 
return to school safely. This uncertainty is contributing to a growing 
anxiety across our country, but it is a more proximate concern in 
Hawaii, where school districts are scheduled to reopen on August 4--
less than 2 weeks away.
  Earlier this summer, the Hawaii Department of Education and the 
Hawaii State Teachers Association corroborated on a plan to provide 
individual schools a measure of freedom to decide how best to begin the 
school year. At the time, the low numbers of COVID cases provided 
optimism that some schools could reopen for at least some in-person 
instruction at the beginning of the school year. An evolving set of 
facts on the ground, including a rise in new COVID infections in our 
State, led the Hawaii State Teachers Association to announce its 
opposition to resuming in-person instruction on August 4.
  The Hawaii Government Employees Association, HGEA, and United Public 
Workers, UPW, represent school support staff. Both unions have joined 
HSTA in urging the State to delay students returning to classrooms, 
citing ``lack of health strategies to mitigate the spread of the 
coronavirus on public school campuses.'' Their position reflects the 
importance of relying on science and public health data to make 
decisions about our schools.
  If circumstances warrant, our policies should change to ensure a safe 
learning environment. As school districts confront difficult choices 
with painful tradeoffs, our students and educators deserve certainty, 
resources, and support from the Federal Government.
  I heard this message consistently in my conversations with educators 
and students in Hawaii over the last 2 weeks during our State work 
period. Teachers are particularly concerned about how looming budget 
shortfalls in Hawaii could lead to a massive round of teacher layoffs 
and furloughs and broader cuts to education programs. These layoffs and 
furloughs would have devastating consequences for educators, their 
families, and the students they teach.
  An elementary teacher in Kona on Hawaii Island told me how the threat 
of furloughs and budget cuts are impacting his life. He is the son of 
Central American immigrants and a first-generation college graduate. He 
and his fiance, who is also a teacher, would like to buy a home and 
start a family, but they can't proceed with their plans under the 
threat of being furloughed. He has been a teacher for 9 years and loves 
his job.
  Teachers are also concerned about being forced to return to school to 
teach without adequate childcare for their own school-age children, 
some of whom may be physically in classrooms or not. A middle school 
teacher in Ewa on Oahu had to quit her job and return to Maryland so 
her parents could care for her infant daughter. The school has been 
forced to fill the position with substitute teachers who are not 
certified.
  Another major concern for teachers is the learning loss that 
accelerates when students are not in class.
  A high school science teacher on Maui is worried that his students do 
not have the technology and devices they need to be successful in a 
distance learning model. Teachers must share computer carts because 
their school doesn't have enough laptops for each student. He is 
worried about how students will complete their assignments if they are 
learning from home 2 or more days a week.
  A teacher at my alma mater, Kaimuki High School, added that many of 
her students either share laptops or don't have access to a laptop or 
tablet at home.
  Student government leaders I have spoken with have also shared their 
concerns about learning loss and how the pandemic has transformed their 
education.
  A recent graduate headed to college in Boston commented that distance 
learning was difficult for her to navigate because she did not have 
access to technology growing up. She described the move to distance 
learning as ``frantic'' and explained that it was ``discouraging'' to 
continue her studies without the student-teacher interactions she 
previously had.
  A rising senior at Moanalua High School in Honolulu shared how 
difficult it was to stay motivated through distance learning, 
especially as his peers stopped participating. He acknowledged that he 
had probably experienced learning loss.
  Another senior found it harder to learn online because she is a 
visual

[[Page S4458]]

learner. Some of her teachers did not offer visual lessons, so she had 
to teach herself. She also found that less interaction with teachers 
made it more difficult for her to complete her assignments.
  These stories underscore the urgency and immediacy of the challenges 
we face in reopening our schools.
  It is time for the Senate to step up and confront this crisis in 
American education. The first thing we should do is pass the Heroes 
Act--legislation our colleagues in the House passed over 2 months ago. 
Heroes provides an additional $90 billion in an education-stabilization 
fund, but we should go even further. Recently, I joined 40 of my 
Democratic colleagues to request an additional $175 billion for K-12 
schools through the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund. 
These funds would help schools purchase cleaning supplies and laptop 
computers and implement programs to make sure we are meeting the 
social, emotional, and academic needs of our students.

  Hawaii's superintendent estimates this need would cost $234 million 
for our students just in Hawaii. We have a statewide school system with 
about 180,000 students K-12. These programs are especially important 
for our vulnerable students from economically disadvantaged 
backgrounds, students with disabilities, English language learners, and 
others.
  We should also pass the Child Care is Essential Act, which would 
provide $50 billion for childcare providers who desperately need 
financial assistance to continue operating. How do we expect people to 
go back to work if they don't have childcare options?
  This crisis in American education requires a robust national effort 
to meet the needs. Instead of stepping up to meet this moment, we have 
a President and Education Secretary who have shown they do not care 
about our students and our teachers. That means the rest of us must 
care--the Senate. We are a separate, coequal branch of government. We 
need to step up in this enormous vacuum of leadership by putting the 
safety of our teachers and our children before the President's 
political self-interests.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


Tribute to Dylan Nicholson, Trevor Morgan, Mason Dallmann, A.J. Simeon, 
                            and Skye Morgan

  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. President, it is that time of the week where I get 
to come down and talk about an Alaskan--this time five Alaskans--who is 
doing great things for our community, our State, and sometimes our 
country. It is what we call the Alaskan of the Week or Alaskans of the 
Week. This is one of my favorite parts of the job. I know the Presiding 
Officer loves these speeches too. When we had pages here, they really 
loved it. We will get them back here soon, hopefully.
  In all seriousness, of course, our country is facing very challenging 
times, and we have been tested as a nation and as a State on so many 
levels. If you read the newspaper, you think there is nothing going 
right, but I will tell you one thing I certainly see in my State. I was 
home for 3 weeks this past State work period, and I noticed this. There 
is empathy, kindness, understanding, and people working together and 
coming together. That is the big story, and I think we ought to keep an 
eye on that.
  People are putting aside their own interests to help their neighbors, 
to help the elderly, our elders, our seniors. People are partaking in 
conversations about the soul of our Nation--sometimes uncomfortable 
conversations but I think overall constructive, important conversations 
in trying to help each other, to make our communities better, stronger, 
and make our country better and stronger as we struggle through an 
unprecedented pandemic.
  I certainly see that across my State, and I am certain that the 
Presiding Officer sees that in his State, and it is really the best of 
America. It is important to remember that.
  One of the reasons I love doing this ``Alaskan of the Week'' speech 
is because we get to highlight this not just for people in Alaska but 
for the country, people who are working hard for each other--maybe not 
getting the recognition they deserve but still doing very important 
work.
  This week, I am going to honor five very fine, young Alaskans, young 
heroes who, because of their bravery and instincts and courage, very 
well likely saved lives. They are our Alaskans of the week. But before 
I talk about them, I always give an update of what is going on back 
home.
  The weather has been glorious in many areas. There has been a lot of 
Sun--the midnight Sun, of course. There is even more Sun than in 
Florida right now at this time. The salmon are choking our rivers. I 
was out in Naknek, in the Crystal Bay region. There are huge sockeye 
salmon runs happening right now, which is great.
  There is also struggling in other parts of the State. Fire season is 
upon us. This is something we have every year. I used to be the 
commissioner of natural resources in charge of our Division of 
Forestry--the brave men and women who fight fires in Alaska and all 
over the country, really. Sometimes we have really challenging fire 
seasons. Last summer was a really challenging one for us. Firefighters 
across the country came and helped Alaska with our challenges. They 
happened primarily by lightning strikes--thousands in a day, you will 
get in Alaska. In just 1 day, there are thousands.
  So far, the fire season in Alaska--knock on wood--this summer has not 
been nearly as intense as last summer, but our firefighters are still 
out there taking on huge fires. You don't read about them in the lower 
48. It is dangerous work--very dangerous work.
  That brings me to the story of our Alaskans of the week: Dylan 
Nicholson, who is 13 years old; Trevor Morgan and Mason Dallmann, both 
17 years old; A.J. Simeon, who is 19; and Skye Morgan, who is 18.
  On the afternoon of May 28, just 2 months ago, these five young men 
from Aniak, AK--a village of about 500 people that sits 300 miles west 
of Anchorage--were driving in a truck and on a four-wheeler in a gravel 
pit area a few miles away from the village. On their way back home, 
they passed a lake by the road and saw a small yellow airplane that was 
in the lake. It obviously had just crashed. Obviously, it had just 
crashed. Inside the plane were three emergency firefighters and a 
pilot. They had been on their way to the Kenai Peninsula south of 
Anchorage to support firefighters there. This is late May.

  To the boys--these young men--the plane seemed to materialize out of 
thin air. One of them, Trevor Morgan, is quoted as saying: ``I was 
like, `Dang man, that wasn't there 30 seconds ago,' '' and now there is 
a plane in the lake.
  When they heard the shouting coming from the plane and people 
emerging, the young men sprung into action. The 13-year-old, Dylan, 
called his aunt, who works at the Alaska State Trooper dispatch office. 
Then they did something very brave. They jumped into the freezing 
water.
  Now, remember, this is May in Alaska. That lake was probably frozen 
over just a couple of months earlier. They helped two of the passengers 
out through the mud and onto the shore. They loaded them into a truck 
and drove them to a nearby clinic. Two of the other passengers, 
however, were still stuck in the plane in the water because they were 
too badly injured to leave the plane.
  So, Mason Dallmann, 17 years old, waded out into the water where he 
stayed with them to make sure they could hang on until help arrived. 
Now, remember, this is freezing water. By the way, it was thick with 
diesel oil coming from the engine, so highly dangerous if somehow this 
was going to ignite.
  He was in there keeping them comforted for about 30 minutes. He 
didn't leave their side. One passenger who was badly injured grabbed 
onto Mason, and Mason said: Don't worry. I am not going to leave you.
  Eventually, 30 minutes in the freezing cold water full of diesel, 
first responders came and helped get the men out of the plane and 
transported them to a clinic and a hospital. Two of them

[[Page S4459]]

suffered severe injuries, but, fortunately, all of them are recovering, 
and they are recovering thanks to these five young men and boys who 
spotted the plane in the first place, which wasn't a given, since it 
was miles away from town, and then they reacted and got them help.
  ``We are very fortunate,'' said Alaska State Forest Director Chris 
Maisch, whom I know very well. He said: ``You couldn't have asked for a 
better emergency response in this rural community from [these] young 
people.''
  Aniak City Councilman David Mattson arrived at the crash scene when 
the rescue was going on. He calls the action of these young men 
``heroic.'' Councilman Mattson said: Being a hero means going above and 
beyond for other people--putting others before themselves. And that is 
what those boys did--at such a young age. And such a quick reaction 
time. It is so inspiring.
  He had lived in other cities across the country, but he gives credit 
to the way these boys were raised in the valleys of Aniak. He said:

       We are a big family out here. It doesn't matter what you 
     look like, or who you are or what you do--you're a fellow 
     citizen and if you need help, [people in this part of Alaska 
     in America] we jump in and help [others].

  So these are just a few stellar examples of young Americans, young 
Alaskans, our next generation, who are out there doing their part--
doing their part to help us during these challenging times. With young 
men and women like these all across our Nation and all across my State, 
we know we are going to continue to thrive as a country, as Americans, 
and as Alaskans, no matter what. We know it.
  So to Dylan, Trevor, Mason, A.J., Skye, and your families, thank you 
for being an inspiration to us all. Thank you for your courage. Thank 
you for jumping in a cold lake to save lives. Thank you for your 
heroism. Thank you for stepping up when your community and people in 
need really needed you without asking any questions and without 
hesitating. Congratulations on being our Alaskans of the Week.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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